Shortly after marrying Louis (Daniel Auteuil), a French militar officer, Jeanne (Emmanuelle Béart) must face solitude as Louis is sent to fight in World War II. While waiting for his return from a Prisoner-of-war camp, Jeanne gets involved on different affairs with his husband's comrades-in-arms. When he finally returns home and finds out about his wife's cheating, he forgives her and offers her freedom, but she refuses to accept and they come back together. Looking for a new life, the family (now with two twins) move to Berlin, where Jeanne meets Matthias, a German industrialist who falls in love with her. A third child is born and shortly after, Louis is summoned to the First Indochina War, forcing his family to return to France.